The Supreme Court is scheduled on Friday to deliver its judgment on the validity of the unilateral move by some States, including Maharashtra and Delhi, to cancel the final year University Grants Commission (UGC) exams.
A Bench led by Justice Ashok Bhushan is scheduled to pronounce the verdict.
The UGC, in the last hearing, had argued that though its July 6 directive to conduct final year exams by the end of September was not a “diktat,” States cannot unilaterally cancel the exams citing the pandemic.
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“If the State governments had an issue, they cannot change the exam schedule on their own. They should meet with the Centre and consult with the UGC about their apprehensions,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the UGC, had submitted.
Multiple options
Mr. Mehta said the guidelines for conducting the exams involved multiple options for students. “They can take the exams online, offline or hybrid [partly online and partly in the physical format],” he had said.
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The Solicitor General had also said if a student was unable to appear for the exams in September, he could opt for a later date.
The UGC had questioned the logic of cancelling the final term exams for fear of COVID-19, but at the same time opening up varsities and educational institutions for the next academic session.
The court was hearing a batch of petitions filed by over 30 students, represented by advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava, questioning the validity of the UGC’s directive.